1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wire protection member.
2. Description of the Related Art
A protection tube for preventing electric wires from touching another member to be thereby damaged is used in a wire harness provided in a car or the like. A locking tool to be locked to a mounting hole of a vehicle body panel where the electric wires should be wired is bound to an outer circumferential surface of the protection tube made of a synthetic resin material and having flexibility. However, the protection tube may be crushed at the place where the locking tool is bound with a binding band or the like. The electric wires may be bitten at the place where the protection tube is crushed. In addition, there arises a problem that a space to receive the electric wires may be reduced at the crushed place to thereby deteriorate the wire protection function.
Therefore, there has been proposed a protection tube with a locking tool (wire protection member), in which a locking tool that can be locked to a mounting hole of a vehicle body panel is formed integrally with a protection tube (see JP-A-2012-217295). As shown in FIG. 9, a wire harness 501 includes a protection tube 503 with a locking tool. In the protection tube 503 with a locking tool, a locking tool 507 to be locked to a mounting hole of a vehicle body panel where electric wires 505 should be wired is provided on the outer circumferential surface of a protection tube (wire protection tube) 511 formed into a cylindrical shape and receiving a wire bundle 509.
In the protection tube 503 with a locking tool, a cylindrical portion 513 serving as a cylindrical covering member formed into a cylindrical shape is provided on the outer circumferential surface of the protection tube 511. The protection tube 511 made of synthetic resin has flexibility (easy bendability) due to its configuration in which a plurality of large diameter portions 515 and a plurality of small diameter portions 517 are arranged alternately. Of the cylindrical portion 513 provided on the outer circumferential surface of the protection tube 511, parts formed on the inner side are filled into concave outer circumferential grooves 519 located between adjacent ones of the large diameter portions across each small diameter portion 517. Thus, the parts formed on the inner side are integrated with the protection tube 511. In the locking tool 507 provided in the cylindrical portion 513 configured thus, a pair of locking claws 521 are closed, and a shaft portion 523 is inserted into the mounting hole of the vehicle body panel. When an abutment plate 525 of the locking tool 507 abuts against the vehicle body panel, the pair of locking claws 521 are opened on the back side of the vehicle body panel such that the vehicle body panel is put between the locking claws 521 and the abutment plate 525. Thus, the locking tool 507 is locked to the vehicle body panel.
According to the protection tube 503 with a locking tool, the locking tool 507 is formed integrally with the protection tube 511. It is therefore unnecessary to bind the locking tool to the protection tube with a binding band as described above. Therefore, there is no fear that the protection tube 511 may be crushed due to binding with the binding band.